This one was opened Wednesday by one of the largest financial services company in the world, Visa. The credit card company also used the occasion to herald its entry into the mobile payments world with Visa Checkout, which promises "a quick and easy payment service that enables consumers to pay for goods online, on any device, in just a few clicks."

In other words, watch out PayPal, Google Wallet and others in the online payment space, here comes the big boy, promising to eliminate the "consumer pain point" at the virtual checkout stand (e.g., having to enter personal and credit card information at every site).

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The 112,000-square-foot innovation center at tony One Market Plaza is designed to get Visa software developers together with clients and Bay Area techies "to jointly develop the next generation of commerce applications," the company said. For example, developers are invited to come up with native in-apps for iOS and Android operating systems.

"It's a recognition of the fact that the credit card is becoming a digital card, and innovations are occurring through digital means," said Jim McCarthy, senior vice president of innovation and strategic partnerships. "Basically, we're opening up our network to software developers to use our capabilities and assets, and to help consumers to take advantage of them."

Visa, which left its San Francisco headquarters for Foster City in 2012 - a symbolic loss for the city at the time - decided to return most of its operations to its old home last year, aware that San Francisco had become the go-to place for software development. Approximately 500 employees will be occupying the new space.

"To really attract and retain the best talent, the city is the place to be," said McCarthy, noting that Google is also moving into One Market Plaza.

Visa, which has 2 billion branded credit cardholders worldwide, reported $12 billion in revenue and $5 billion in net income last year. Visa Checkout, which replaces the earlier V.me digital wallet, is initially being launched in the United States, the biggest e-commerce market, along with Canada and Australia. More countries are on the drawing board for 2015.

Merchants on board include Neiman Marcus, United Airlines, Pizza Hut, Staples and TicketMaster.Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, Citi and U.S. Bankare among the 180 credit card issuers and financial institutions that have signed up.

As to horning in on the pioneers, McCarthy responds, "This is not a zero-sum game. Our competition is cash and checks, which don't exist in the digital space. PayPal has done a great job, but not everyone uses PayPal. We are looking to make the technology easier for consumers to use. And, like other tech companies, we're learning to lean forward."

Moving on up: Another San Francisco startup in the peer-to-peer lending space is attracting oodles of venture capital.

Funding Circle announced a $65 million investment round, led by London's Index Ventures and joined by investors including Silicon Valley's Accel Partnersand Ribbit Ventures and New York's Union Square Ventures.

The 4-year-old firm, which specializes in small business peer-to-peer lending, has acted as go-between for private investors to lend over $500 million to more than 5,000 businesses. The new money is intended to help the company "expand product ranges and explore new international markets," said the company, which has twin headquarters, in San Francisco and London.

Such funding (Funding Circle's fourth round) and high-profile board appointments are an indication that something bigger may be on the horizon. Like San Francisco's Lending Club, which is planning an IPO for this year.